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December 06, 2007 (vol. 118, iss. 64)
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Image 3

NEWS BRIEFS
WASHINGTON
Bush to freeze
mortgage interest
rates for five years
The Bush administration has
hammered out an agreement to
freeze interest rates for certain
subprime mortgages for five years
to combat a soaring tide of fore-
closures, congressional aides said
yesterday.
The aides, who spoke on con-
dition of anonymity because the
details have not yet been released,
said the five-year moratorium rep-
resented a compromise between
desires by banking regulators for
a longer time frame of up to seven
years and mortgage industry argu-
ments that the freeze should last
only one or two years.
Another person familiar with
the matter said the rate-freeze plan
would apply to borrowers with
loans made at the start of 2005
through July 30 of this year with
rates that are scheduled to rise
between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31,
2010.
WASHINGTON
Agreement gives
military new power
over Blackwater
A new agreement between the
Pentagon and the State Department
gives the military in Iraq more con-
trol over Blackwater Worldwide
and other private security contrac-
tors.
The agreement was signed yes-
terday at the Pentagon by Deputy -
Defense Secretary Gordon England
and Deputy Secretary of State John
Negroponte, whose department
uses Blackwater to guard its diplo-
mats. It spells out rules, standards
andguidelines forthe use of private
security contractors.
The agreement also says con-
tractors will be accountable for
criminal acts under U.S. law. That
partly clarifies what happens if
a contractor breaks the law, but
leaves the details to be worked out
with Congress.
OMAHA, Neb.
Bush tells Iran to
release nuclear info
or face sanctions
President Bush, trying to keep
pressure on Iran, called on Tehran
yesterday to "come clean" about the
scope of its nuclear activities or else
face diplomatic isolation.
Two days after anew intelligence
report said that Iran had halted its
nuclear weapons program four
years ago, Bush demanded that
Tehran detail its previous pro-
gram to develop nuclear weapons
"which the Iranian regime has yet
to acknowledge."
"The Iranians have a strategic
choice to make," he said. "They can
come clean with the international
community about the scope of their
nuclear activities, and fully accept
the long-standing offer to suspend

their enrichment program and
come to the table and negotiate, or
they can continue on a path of iso-
lation."
ATLANTA
* U.S. teen birth rate
rises for first time
in 15 years
In a troubling reversal, the
nation's teen birth rate rose for the
first time in 15 years, surprising
government health officials and
reviving the bitter debate about
abstinence-only sex education.
The birth rate had been drop-
ping since its peak in 1991, although
the decline had slowed in recent
years. Yesterday, government stat-
isticians said it rose 3 percent from
2005 to 2006.
The reason for the increase is not
clear, and federal health officials
said it might be a one-year statisti-
cal blip, not the beginning of a new
upward trend.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
39886

FILM FEST
From Page 1A
Still, former State Rep. Leon
"Drolet (R-Clinton Twp.) said at
the time that the films' contents
were "pornography so bad, no
one will buy it."
Shelli Weisberg, the legislative
director for the Michigan chapter
of the American Civil Liberties
Union, said the fundingreduction
violated the free speech clause of
the First Amendment.
"It's pretty clear they were
censoringthe material to a degree
that was unconstitutional," Weis-
berg said.
The settlement removes the
legislation's specific bans on sex,
flag destruction and fecal repre-
sentations of religious symbols,
and replaces it with language
used by the National Endowment
for the Arts. The NEA's rules do
allow funding for art deemed
LEASING
From Page 1A
Public Policy senior Nick Assa-
nis, a student representative atthe
meeting, said certain groups of
students - freshmen, out-of-state
and international students - may
be uninformed when it comes to
findingsuitable housing.
He said that students felt
waivers made it more difficult to
enforce the current ordinance.
"We are more than willing
to recognize that cheating so
to speak has occurred on both
sides of the table," Assanis said.
"Not only did we feel it made the
ordinance cleaner and easier to
enforce but we also thought it
made educational efforts."

obscene, but the definition of
obscenity is less strict and less
specific.
The new language says art
"will be judged, taking intocon-
sideration general standards
of decency and respect for the
diverse beliefs and values of the
people of this state." If the art
can't adhere to those principles,
the state doesn't have to fund
it.
Weisberg said the rule altera-
tion was a significant step for
assuring free speech.
"The bigger victory was get-
ting the language changed,"
Weisberg said
Christen McArdle, the AAFF's
executive director, said she
hopes this victory will translate
into momentum for the festival,
which is four months away.
"It's very 'get back to work'
for us," McArdle said. "We knew
this day was coming. We worked
really hard to get here."
Landlord Lelahni Wessinger
said reducing the waiting period
is a step in the right direction.
She said the housing system in
Ann Arbor should be revamped
so that seniors have first priority
when looking for larger residenc-
es in Ann Arbor because they
have the most experience in the
local housing market.
"I've always said I don't have
a problem with the experienced
people benefiting from. their
experience," Wessinger said.
According to Greden, the
changes to the ordinance will
be reviewed by the City Council
twice in January. He also said
there will be a public hearing
about the ordinance on Jan.22.
If the council approves the
changes, they will go into effect
immediately after that.

' 0Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 3A
Come study with us!1

Welcome Wednesdays might be over for this semester,
but you can join us during finals for study days.
to T11N' pe
~n~a~jlecevabei t ecembeY 20
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, WI-FI and
free blue books will be provided.
(Welcome Wednesdays returns Wednesday, January 16).
ALUMNIASSOCIATION
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
www.umalumni.com/students

sn i
To play: Complete the grid so that every row, column
and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

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